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Bangladesh: Head Teacher Arrested for Possessing "Lajja"

Source:

WLUML allies

Press Release

We, the undersigned strongly protest the arrest of Mr. Yunus Ali, the Head Teacher of KC Technical and Business Management College of Pirojpur, on 4 January, 2012. Mr. Ali was arrested or having allegedly kept a copy of writer Taslima Nasreen's novel "Lajja" ("Shame") in the college library. This arrest is a clear breach of the right to freedom of speech and shows the presence of a broad range of communal and generally reactionary forces in our society.

We believe that the banning of books clearly violates the right to freedom of thought and expression, which constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic and pluralistic society during the information age of the 21st century and is enshrined in the Constitution of Bangladesh.[1] Dissenting ideas and opinions should be faced through a healthy debate, not censorship and arrest. A state’s weakness, intolerance and imprudence are revealed when a literary work is banned in this manner.

Only a tolerant, secular and democratic atmosphere will ensure maximum participation of everyone in public life, enrich our culture and maintain the spirit of the liberation war. On this basis, we demand that all charges against Head Teacher Mr. Yunus Ali be immediately dropped.

Signed by:

Sultana Kamal, Executive Director, Ain O Salish Kendro

Hameeda Hossain, Chairperson, Human Rights Activist

Khushi Kabir, Coordinator, Nijera Kori

M. Zafar Iqbal, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology

Anu Mohammad, Jahangirnagar University

Gitiara Nasreen, Dhaka University

Sonia Amin, Dhaka University

Ferdousi Priyobhashini, Human Rights Activist

Sara Hossain, Advocate, Supreme Court

Dina Siddiqi, Hunter College, New York

Meghna Guhathakurta, Research Initiatives Bangladesh

Bina D’ Costa, The Graduate Institute, Geneva

Shapan Adnan, Independent Scholar

Zakir Kibria, Solidarity Workshop

Faustina Pereira, Advocate, Supreme Court

Robaet Ferdous, Dhaka University

Asif Saleh

Jyoti Rahman, Editor, Drishtipat Writers’ Collective

Sultana Begum, Human Rights Activist

Khodeja Sultana, Human Rights Activist

[1] Article 39 (Freedom of thought and conscience, and of speech) says “Freedom of thought and conscience is guaranteed” and that “the right of every citizen of freedom of speech and expression; and freedom of the press, are guaranteed”.